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JFAC approves ITS package, funds 22 positions and IT replacements to consolidate state cybersecurity and services
Summary
The committee approved the Office of Information Technology Services’ (ITS) enhancement requests including funding for office space, enterprise security, infrastructure projects and 22 full‑time positions to support consolidation of Idaho State Police and Department of Juvenile Corrections IT staff.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on March 20 approved a multi-part funding package for the Office of Information Technology Services that includes funding for office relocations, enterprise security upgrades, IT infrastructure and 22 full-time equivalent positions tied to statewide IT consolidation efforts.
Committee analysts said the ITS request addressed ongoing consolidation under the Idaho IT Modernization Initiative and a range of cybersecurity and hardware needs. The committee approved the agency request rather than a smaller governor’s recommendation for some items, in part because the planned resiliency fund mechanism was not carried forward in a separate policy bill.
Representative Petzke moved the main funding motion, which included line items for office-space costs to accommodate consolidated staff, enterprise security and backup improvements to counter ransomware threats, an emergency connectivity network, infrastructure and F5 consolidation, a ServiceNow project-management tool, and 22 FTP associated with consolidating personnel from Idaho State Police and the Department of Juvenile Corrections into ITS. The motion included replacement-item funding for hardware and other ITS modernization costs.
Committee discussion noted differences between the agency request and the governor’s recommendation; those differences primarily involved the mechanism for holding and disbursing funds (the proposed cybersecurity and IT resilience fund) and whether hardware replacement purchases should be budgeted through ITS or another mechanism. The committee elected to fund the original agency request for FY2026 and to require a December 1 report from ITS and the Division of Financial Management on cost efficiencies related to IT equipment and services.
The motion carried in committee. The rollout of new positions and hardware purchases will be implemented by ITS under the agency’s consolidated IT service model, with reporting and oversight as specified by committee language.
Votes: The committee approved the ITS package (committee totals recorded: 14 ayes, 5 nays, 1 absent excused across the two chambers as recorded on the transcript; the final combined tally reported in committee was 14 ayes, 5 nays, 1 absent excused).
